Stocking-knitting machine.



GL P. BOSWORTH.

STOGKING KNITTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED IIINE 4,19I4.

Patented Aug. 10, 12H5.

3 SHEETS-SHEET i.

' Ewa'.

I II-III "I IIIIIIIII II i 10 Figi@ `II I I y l :I I

a 7 I II IIIIIIII IIIIII Il II II II Il II\ III II IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII 35 faQ I II G. P@ BOSWORTH.

STOCKING KNiTTlNG MACHINE.

APPLICATION mso JUNE 4. 1914.

1,149,714, Patented Aug. 10, 1915.

' 3 SHEETS-SHEET 2- f j i n @0C George oswr/,

G. P. BOSWORTH.

STOCKING KNITTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FxLED1uNE4.1914.

Tatented Aug. 10, 1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

mann erases earner orties.

GEORGIE P.v BOSWORTH, OF CENTRAL FALLS. RHODE ISLAND, ASSIGNOR. TO HEMPHILL MANUFACTURING COMPANY, 0F PAWTUCKET, RHODE ISLAND, A CORPORATION OF .RHODE ISLAND.

The invention is designed tov make a full-- ness or gore at the back of the stocking at a point preceding the heel pocket the hue of which will run at an inclination to the leg,

and the invention consists in the) features and combination and arrangement oi' parts hereinafter described and particularly eluted in the claims.

Tllenvention is shown in connection with A:a machine of -the Banner type made under Letters Patent of the United States, granted "'to Hemphill #933,443, dated September 7,

1909, though it will be understood that the invention is applicable to machines of other makes. n

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is-adiagrammatic View of a` stocking showing the gore as produced in my machine. Fig. 2 is a'front'view of a knitting head and certain4 operating connections embodying my invention. Fig. 3 is an en 'd view of part ofthe knitting head of Fig. 2, with some oi'' the operatingconnections and pattern cams. Fig. e is a plan view of the l knitting head partly in section and parts `being omitted. Fig. 5 is a diagran'nnatic development of the knitting cams. A As shown in Fig. 5, the needle cams coinprise theordinary stitch cams 1, 2, the guard cam 3 andthe needle lowering cam 4. This .lcweringlcam is combined with an instep cam 'which is to elevate the instep needles .which are to be rendered inoperative, this cam, as in usual practice being raised and vlowered with the lowering cam 4, but said cam is modified in its construction and operation as hereinafter will be noted. The

calms 4 and 5 are-both carried by a block 4 .slidable in a pst 4b, said block being shifted bv a bell crank lever All through the connections usual in the Banner machine. The needle cam set also includes a fixed cam 6 for completing the elevating of the instep needles vto their inoperative plane when lraised by the 'instep cani 5, and also the supplemental needle raising cam 8 which 1s 'movable vertically on the outside of the usual cam ring 9` The narrowing picks 10 Specification of Letters Patent.

Application led June 4, 1914. Serial No. 843,060.

and widening picks 11 are of usual construction. The needle circle rotates in the arrow direction shown in Figs. 4 and 5.

The needles are in three sets in respect to the length of their butts. As shown in Fig. 4, there are short butt needles a, medium length butt needles b, o, and long butt needles c. The long butt needles occupy one-half of' the needle circle, :and the other half of the needlecircle is made up of the short butt needles a, and the medium length butt needles b, l `urthern1ore, there are two columns of the medium butt needles 6,0, and one of these columns is located'at one end of the column of shortest butt needles a, and the other column of medium butt needles is located at the other end of the said column of short'butt needles a.

In round knitting all the needles pass along with their butts in the norm-.1l path 12, Figs. 2 and 5, at the top of the cam ring t), said butts passing below the lowering cam 4, and below the can; 6 being eleyated by the cam 2 to takev the yarn, afterl1ich they pass under the guard cam 3 andare retracted to .t'crm stitches by the cam l. On reciprocating knitting, as in usual practice, when the needles rotate in the direction opposite to the arrow, they are elevated to take the thread by cam l, and are retracted to form the stitches by the cam 2.,

In order to make the fullnessor gore indicated by the line Fig.- 1, all the needles are elevated to inoperative, position excepting' the shortest butt needles a. For thus elevating the long butt and medium .butt length needles the cam 8 is raised at the time the shortest butt needles are passing it. As the shortest butt needles a, are passing the supplemental cam 8, this cam is raised, without elevating these needles because they are too short to reach this cam. llhen one of the columns of the medium butt needles o, come around immediately fol-vv lmving the sinn-test butt needles they will be elevated to imnierative position by the said supplemental cam, these needles projecting slightly rbeyond the spacing cam ring 9, on which thebutts ordinarily' slide. Following the column of medium butts which are raised, as just described, are thelong butts and following these isV the other column of medium butts so that all the medium butt needlesof both columns -will be raised to inoperative position, and the' same is true of sToCKING-KNITTING MACHINE.

ics

thehalf circle of long butt instep needles.v The long butt needles a, as usual, are the.

instep needles and the medium and short butt needles constitute the heel and toe -orf sole needles, and of course they are the' needles which make the extra `gore also. During the raising of the medium :and long butt needles the widening picks are in their elevatedposition, their controller 13 being elevated by connections from the cam, (their springs tending constantly to swing the said picks up, as presently described,) on the pattern drum shaft., rThe ordinary instep cam 5 is now raised. This cam sets infar enough to take only the long butt needles 0. It misses both the short butt needles a, and medium butt needles Z). This instep. cam

while raised on this revolution, is not, ef-' fective because the long butt needles have been already lraised by thel supplemental raising cam 8. It is raised because in ordinary practice the machine is about to go on reciprocating knitting and it must remai-n elevated during this time, otherwise the lowering cam, with which it is combined, being secured to the same postor block, would lower the needles. This lowering cam is located close to the cylinder and will lower all needles when it occupies its lowermost position shown in Fig. 5.. We now have all the needles raised to inoperative position excepting the shortest butt needles, which mental raising cam 8 noW falls.

make they back of the tube. The'supple- The machine now goes on reciprocating knitting and as the widening picks are in their elef vated or operative position widening will be done on these picks, two medium butt needles t being lowered from their elevated Iposition by' each widening pick from the ends of the columns of medium butt needles' on each stroke of the machine and the narrowing picks raising one of these two needles back again'I to elevated or operative position, the net reslt of which is that on each stroke the'fabric will be widened one needle. This widening goes on upon all medium butt needles, first on one column thereof and then the other until all these medium butt needles have been brought into work and the fabric has been widened `from m to w. At the end of these widening actionsY` the widening picks are thrown down out of ac:

tion by moving their .controller 13 down,v

the arms`of .which loverlie the stems of the picks, and therefore as the machine continues to reciprocate the widening picks will be out of operation but the narrowing picks will continue to work and therefore the narrowing actions will be proceeded with in the ordinary way from to y, fol-v lowed by the widening back from y to to make the heel pouch, asin ordinary praci tice. During this narrowing and widening action the instep lowering cam 4 will re'- 'main up to thus prevent lowering thelong done onlyf,V Atter. th widening has 'been completedtthefinstep- 'cams lz and 5.are lowered to;l"vvfer"'all the"v butt elevated needles.y Picking is on vthe medium butt needles.

instep needles, the other mediumffbntt eedles. having been lower( l onelhy one on he vwidening action andthe shortest-butt needles having remained down vin action: during all the above actions of forming the high splicetheel pocket, and the widening` picks being now moved downto inoperative;-

position the machine goes on-roundQlmiitfv the toe the usual instep cam,` asjust stated, `l

raises the long butt needles as in ordinaryY practice. The supplemental raising cam is not operated at this timebecause the meo dium butts are the ones to be picked up-` wardly for narrowing, and they must be left down so as to be acted on and elevated one by one by the narrowing picksas in ordinary practice.

kIt will be seen from the above that' for making the diagonal gore fr-m I elevate at once, by the supplemental cam 8, the long butt instep needles and also allthe medium butt needles which are to be-used for widening the fabric, leaving only the smallest number of needles in operation` e. the shortest butts, and by throwing into operation the widening picks a widening action begins at once, no narrowing preceding the widening as is ordinarily the case in forming a. heel pouch or 'toe pocket.

The three lengths of ncedle'butts are essential in order to provide a space' for the supplemental cam S to rise through. This is provided by the short butt needles, the camv` being raised as these needles are passing it and thus the cam is 11p/1n position to raise. the medium butt needles and the long butt needles before these come to the cam, and

these needles are definitely raised at one point. Furthermore, by using the three length butts of needles the short butts remain '1n actlonwhile there is provided on each end of thls column of active needles a column of medium butt needles on which picking is done,` and between these two columns of medium butt needles the long butt `instep needles are disposed.

Pattern cams.--Referring to Fig. I"

show the pattern'cams for controlling the supplemental needle raising cam 8, and the/13()l widening picks 11, the former cam being indicated at 14, and the latter being indicated at 15, in dotted lines, this latter cam being substantially the same as inthe Hemphill patent for making the ordinary heel pocket, excepting that a block is inserted at 16, to maintain the widening pick controller 13 up for a longer time than ordinarily, in

order to widen for the extra gore. The cams rotate in the arrow direction step by step, and following the block 16 the lever 17 drops into the notch 1S for the heel narrowing, the widening picks 11 being thus lowered out of operation by the controller 15 13, forcing them down against the tension of their usual springs 19. This controller, as is ordinarily the case, bears on the stems of the widening picks. Following the notch 18 the lever 17 is raised at 20, thus allowing `20 the widening picks to raise to operative position under tension of their springs 19 when the controller 13 is lifted. The lever 17 next drops into the recess 21 to inoperative position for round knitting for the foot.

The next movement of the pattern cam l5 brings the space A22 beneath the lever 17 ,for the toe narrowing. The next step brings the high point 23 beneath the lever, raising it for the toe wideningand following this 430 the machine goes on round knitting, the

widening picks lowering at 24 and immediately raising at 25 for round knitting of the leg. VThe needle cam 8 is moved vertically in a guide box 26 by a lever 27, pivoted at 28, and operated through link 29, lever 30, linkfl and lever '32, suitablyv pivoted to themframe, said lever being operated by the cam block 14' on the pattern drum. The lever 17, above mentioned, which controls 40 the position ofthe widening picks, operates through a link 33, lever 34 and pin 85, which is slidable vertically in a suitable bracket,

.. this controller Abeing mounted on a. block 36.

I clai 1. In a circular stocking knitting n1a-y chine, a needlecyli'mtler,l needles comprising a column of short butt needles, a'column of medium length butt needles at each end of `the column of short butt needlessaid nee'- dles forming one half of the needle circle, a 'column of long butt needles forming' the other half of the needle circle, narrowing and widening picks, means for elevating the long butt needles and the medium butt needles for theformationuof a gore previous to the formation of the'heel, means for controlling the widening picksto widen on the medium butt needles for making said gore and means for then controlling` the picks to narrow and widen the fabric fork the formation of the heel, substantially as described.

2. In a circular stocking knitting machine, a lneedle cylinder, needles comprising a column of short butt needles, a column of medium length butt needles `at eachv end of the column of short butt needles, said needles forming one half of the needle circle, a column of long butt needles forming the other half of the needle circle, narrowing 'and widening picks, means for elevating the TO long butt needles and the medium butt needles for the formation of a gore preceding the heel pocket, audmeans for controlling the Widening picks to widen on the medium butt needles for making said gore, and means for raising the long butt needles only, prior to knitting the toe, substantially as described. y

3. In a circular knitting machine, a needle cylinder, needles with three lengths of butts, comprising a column of short butt needles, a column of medium butt needles at each end of the column of short butt needles', a column of long butt instep needles, instep v raising and lowering cams, said raising can. S5 acting on the long butt needles and said .I lowering cam acting upon all the needles, a supplemental raising cam acting to raise to inoperative position .the medium butt needles, and narrowing and widening picks act- 9o ing upon the medium butt needles, means for operating the supplemental cams to velevate the medium butt needles and means for controlling the widening picks for the formation of agore preceding the heel pocket, said cam being lowered during the formation of the heel and toe by narrowing and widening, substantially as described. 1

4. In combination in a stocking knitting machine, needles having three lengths of butts, long butts, medium buttsA and short butts, a lowering cam and two cams. for raising the needles to inoperative positions, and independent connectionslfor operating said needle raising cams, and narrowing and Widening picks, one o said cams raising the long and medium butt needles to inoperative position at the heel, and the other raising .only the long butt needles for the formation of the toe pocket, substantially as described. l

5. ln combination in t stocking machine, needles comprising a half circle of long butt needles, a half circle made up of a column of short britt needles witha column of medium butt needles at each end of the column of short butt needles, a raising cam to raise the long butt needles only, a lowering cam to lower any elevated needles, a sliding block carrying said cams, a post in which said block slides, means for raising and lowering the block, a cam for elevating the long and the medium butt needles, means for operating said camV to lift said needles for the making of a gore preceding the formation of the heel, said cam beinglimmediately lowered' after raising the said needles, pick mechanism for widening on the elevated medium butt needles, said pick mechanism then narf rowing and widening thefabric for the heel pouch, following which the lowering cam falls for round knitting, the said Operating means raising onlythe raising cani and lowering cam at the toe for elevating only the long butt needles While the toe pouch is formed on the medium and short butt I needles and While the elevating cam last mentioned remains down, and pattern mech- 

